CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

His Kindness to Mephibosheth

2 Samuel 9

2 Samuel 9 presents to us one of the loveliest scenes in the life of David. To appreciate it
properly we need to recall his earlier experiences, particularly the unkind treatment he
received from the hands of Saul. We will only refer briefly now to the jealousy which
was awakened in that king’s heart when he heard the women celebrating in song the
victory of Jesse’s youthful son over Goliath. How that later he sought to kill David again
and again by throwing a javelin at him. Finally, how that David had to flee for his life and
how relentlessly the king pursued him, determining to kill him. But things had been
completely altered. Saul and his sons were slain in battle, and David had ascended the
throne of Israel. A most admirable spirit did our hero now display: instead of using his
royal power tyrannically or maliciously, he put it to a most noble use: to return good For
evil, to extend pity to the descendant of his foe, to befriend one who might well have
feared death at his hands, was David’s next act.

"And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him
kindness for Jonathan’s sake?" (2 Sam. 9:1). First of all let us observe the pathos of such
a question. 1 Chronicles 8:33 furnishes a list of Saul’s sons, but now his family had been
so reduced by the judgments of God that inquiry has to be made "is there yet any that is
left of the house of Saul?" How true it is that "the sins of the fathers are visited upon the
children"—O that more parents would take this to heart. But, second, let us note the
benevolent designed of David: he sought any possible survivor of Saul’s family, not that
he might imprison or slay, but that he might show him "kindness." It was no passing
whim which had actuated him. "Jonathan" was before his heart, and for his "sake" he was
determined to show clemency and display his magnanimity. At length they brought to
David an old retainer of Saul’s family, who knew well the sad state into which it was
fallen; and to him also David said, "Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may
show the kindness of God unto him?" (v. 3).

But beautiful as was David’s conduct on this occasion, something yet more blessed was
shadowed forth by it, and upon that we would particularly concentrate our attention. As
other writers on this sweet incident have pointed out, David as monarch over Israel
suggests to us God upon His throne in heaven: David showing kindness to the family of
his archenemy, foreshadowed God’s dealing in grace with sinners. The name of the one
whom David befriended, the place he had hitherto occupied, the condition he was then in,
the wondrous portion he received, all typified the case of those upon whom God bestows
saving mercy. The picture here presented is perfect in its accuracy in every detail, and the
more closely it be examined, the more clearly will its evangelical character appear. O that
our hearts may be melted by its exquisite light and shade.
"And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him
kindness for Jonathan’s sake?" Let us first observe that David was the one who here took
the initiative. No overtures were made unto him by the one remaining descendant of Saul;
the king himself was the one to make the advance. So it is in the antitype: it is not the
sinner, but God, who makes the first move. Through the Gospel He makes overtures of
mercy, and in each instance of salvation He is found of them that seek Him not. "All we
like sheep have gone astray" (Isa. 53:6), and it is the nature of a lost sheep to wander
farther and farther afield. The shepherd must do the seeking, for sheep astray never go
after the shepherd—true alike both naturally and spiritually. It was God who sought out
Abraham in Ur, Jacob at Bethel, Moses in Midian, Saul of Tarsus on the road to
Damascus, and not they who sought unto Him.

Next, we may notice the object of David’s quest. It was not one who had befriended him
during the days of his own dire need. Nor was it one whom men of the world would call
"a deserving case." Nor was it one from whom David could expect anything again in
return. Instead, it was one immediately descended from his most merciless and
implacable foe; it was one who was hiding away from him; it was one who had nothing
of his own, having lost his heritage. How accurate the picture The Gospel of God’s grace
is not seeking those who have something of their own to commend them unto the Lord,
nor does it offer salvation in return for service to be rendered afterwards. Its inestimable
riches are for worthless wretches, spiritual paupers, lost and undone sinners; and those
riches are freely proffered "without money and without price."

But let us pay attention to the motive which actuated David. Very beautiful is this line in
our typical picture. "And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that
I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake." Here was what moved the king to make
overtures of mercy toward the house of his sworn enemy. Though there was nothing
whatever in Saul’s survivor to commend him unto the royal favor, David found a reason
outside of him, in that bond of love and friendship which existed between his own heart
and Jonathan. And thus it is too in the antitype: "For we ourselves also were sometime
Foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and
envy, hateful, hating one another. But after that the kindness and pity of God our Saviour
toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according
to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy
Spirit; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour" (Titus 3:3-6). It
is because of Another that God is gracious to His people: "God for Christ’s sake hath
forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32).

One more item completes this point, and a very striking one it is. When Zeba, Saul’s
servant, had been found and brought to David, the king asked, "Is there not yet any of the
house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him?" (v. 3). This language goes
further than his words in the first verse. It takes us back to 1 Samuel 20. There we find
Jonathan acted the part of a mediator between Saul and David (vv. 27-34). There too we
read of a solemn "covenant" (vv. 16, 17, 42) between Jonathan and David, in which the
latter swore to show kindness unto the house of the former forever: "Jonathan caused
David to sware again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul"
(v. 17). It was to that incident the words of David "that I may show the kindness of God
unto him" looked back: it was that kindness of which God Himself had been the witness;
it was covenant "kindness" which he had promised to exercise.

Thus, the one who here obtained kindness at the hands of the king, received favor not
because of anything he had done, nor because of any personal worthiness he possessed,
but wholly on account of a covenant promise which had been made before he was born.
So it is with those toward whom God now acts in free and sovereign grace. It is not
because of any personal claims they have upon Him, but because of the love He bears
toward the Mediator, that He shows "kindness." Nor is that all: long, long before they
first saw the light, God entered into a covenant with Christ, promising to extend mercy
unto all who belonged to His "house": "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show
unto the heirs of promise, the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: that
by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a
strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us"
(Heb. 6: 17, 18). It is "through the blood of the everlasting covenant" that God makes His
people "perfect in every good work to do His will" (Heb. 13:20, 21).

Next, let us look more closely at this one to whom David showed "the kindness of
God"—covenant-kindness. First, his name, for no detail here is meaningless. The son of
Jonathan was called "Mephibosheth" (v. 6), which signifies "a shameful thing." How
accurately does that appellation describe the natural man! "We are all as an unclean
thing" (Isa. 64:6) says God’s Word—polluted by sin. We are by birth and practice
thoroughly depraved and corrupt. Our understanding is darkened so that we cannot
apprehend spiritual things, our will are opposed to God’s, our hearts are desperately
wicked, our consciences are seared, our strength spent in the service of Satan; and in the
sight of the Holy One our very righteousnesses are "as filthy rags." "A shameful thing,"
then, we truly are: "from the sole of the foot even unto the crown of the head there is no
soundness" in us by nature, but instead "wounds and bruises and putrefying sores" (Isa.
1:6). O what cause have we to cry with the leper "Unclean! unclean!" and say with Job "I
am vile."

Second, Mephibosheth was a fugitive from David. When news reached the survivors of
his family that Saul and his sons had been slain in battle, and David had ascended the
throne, Mephibosheth and his nurse fled in terror: "he was five years old when the tidings
came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled" (2 Sam.
4:4). They were anxious to keep out of David’s way. So it is with the sinner, he is afraid
of God, and seeks to banish Him from his thoughts. The knowledge of God’s holiness,
power and omniscience fills him with dismay, and he seeks to have nothing to do with
Him. "The wicked flee when no man pursueth."

Third, Mephibosheth was a cripple. He was "lame of his feet" (2 Sam. 4:4): as the closing
words of our chapter states, he "was lame on both his feet" (v. l3). How accurately that
portrays the condition of those who are out of Christ! The natural man is unable to run m
the path of God’s commandments, or tread the narrow way which leadeth unto Life. He is
a spiritual cripple; "without strength" (Rom. 5:6). The utter inability of the unregenerate
to meet God’s requirements and walk acceptably before him, is a truth written plain
across the Scriptures, though it is given little place indeed in much modern preaching.
The greatness of man, the freedom of his will, his ability to accept Christ any time, is
now the sweet opiate which is chloroforming millions. "No man can come to Me except
the Father which hath sent Me draw him" (John 6:44): how those words of Christ’s attest
the solemn fact that the sinner is "lame of bath his feet"!

Fourth, Mephibosheth became a cripple through a fall: "and his nurse took him up and
fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee that he fell, and became lame" (2 Sam.
4:4). What a truly marvellous book the Bible is! Yet how it needs eyes anointed by the
Divine Inspirer to perceive its wonders and beauties! How obvious it is to those favored
with spiritual discernment that we have here far more than an historical account
pertaining to a single individual: that it is rather a typical picture having a universal
application. Man was not originally created in the condition he is now in. Man was far
from being "lame on both his feet" when his Maker proclaimed him "very good." The
faculties of mans soul have become spiritually crippled as the result of the fall—our fall
in Adam. In consequence of that fall, "they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Rom.
8:8).

Fifth, the place where Mephibosheth resided. It was not at Jerusalem, no, indeed; none
out of Christ live there. Jerusalem signifies "the foundation of peace" and as Holy Writ
truly declares, "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked" (Isa. 48:22): how can
there be while they despise Him in whom alone peace is to be found? "But the wicked are
like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest" (Isa. 57:20)—discontented, dissatisfied. No, it
was not at Jerusalem that poor Mephibosheth resided. Instead, he dwelt at "Lodebar" (2
Sam. 9:4), which means, "the place of no pasture." What a significant line in our picture
is this, so obviously drawn by more than a human artist. How aptly does it portray the
world in which we live, the world which is away from God, which lieth in the wicked
one. It is a world which provides no food for the soul: it is a great "howling wilderness"
so far as spiritual provisions are concerned. Yet how little is that fact realized by those
who are in it and of it.

"Lodebar" is written across all the varied fields of this world, though the great masses of
people realize it not. Multitudes are seeking to find something to fill that void in the heart
which God should occupy. They seek satisfaction in sport, in novel reading, in an endless
round of pleasure, in making money, in fame; but soul satisfaction is not to be found in
such things—things which perish with the using of them. Despising Him who is "the true
Bread," the "Bread of life," no food is to be found here but "the husks that the swine"
feed upon. The prodigal son discovered that when he left his patrimony and went into the
far country: "I perish with hunger" was his plaintive cry. Life, peace, joy, satisfaction, are
to be found only in the Lord.

One other point and we must conclude this chapter: the provision David made for
Mephibosheth. There was this poor creature, belonging to a family that was in rebellion
against David, lame in both feet, and dwelling in the place of no pasture. And here was
the king upon his throne, with purpose of heart to show him kindness for the sake of
another. What, then, was the next move? Did David send a message of welcome, inviting
him to come to Jerusalem? Did he notify Mephibosheth that if he "did his part" mercy
should be accorded him? Did he forward the cripple a pair of crutches, bid him make use
of them, and hobble to Jerusalem as best he could? No, indeed; had anything like that
been David’s policy, our typical picture had failed completely to exhibit "the kindness of
God" unto those on whom He bestows His so great salvation. God does much more than
provide "means of grace."

"Then king David sent and fetched him" (v. 5). This blessed item shadows forth the
efficacious work of the Holy Spirit in those whom God brings unto Himself. Had He
done nothing more than give His Son to die for sinners, and then sent forth His servants
with the gospel invitation, none had ever been saved. This is clear from the parable of the
Great Supper: men were bade to come and assured that "all things were now ready." And
what was their response? This, "they all with one consent began to make excuse" (Luke
14:18). But God was not to be foiled, and said to the servant (the Spirit), "Go out quickly
into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the
halt, and the blind." Thank God for bringing grace; that He does all, both for and in His
people.

‘Twas the same grace that spread the feast,

That gently forced me in;
Else I had still refused to taste,
And perished in my sin.